1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sunroof device for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Arts
A sunroof device disclosed in European Patent Application Publication No. 1741588 A1 has been known as a conventional sunroof device including a roof panel that is openable and closable and front and rear sliders which are connected to front and rear parts of the roof panel, respectively, through pin engaging units each of which is comprised of a lift guide groove and a lift guide pin that is slid along the lift guide groove, wherein the front slider and the rear slider is capable of tilting up the roof panel by the pressing action of the moving pin engaging units.
In the sunroof device disclosed in European Patent Application Publication No. 1741588 A1, the lift guide pin formed on the roof panel is slidably engaged with the lift guide groove of the front slider, a tilt lever is interposed between the roof panel and the rear slider and the lift guide pin formed in the tilt lever is slidably engaged with the lift guide groove of the rear slider. When the front slider and the rear slider are moved rearward from a state where the roof panel is completely closed, the lift guide grooves presses respective lift guide pins to tilt up the roof panel.
More specifically, the tilt lever has such a structure that one end thereof is rotatably connected to the roof panel, a pin (a first guide pin) at the other end thereof is connected to a groove (a first guide curve) of the rear slider and a lift guide pin (a second guide pin) of the mid portion thereof is slidably engaged with a lift guide groove (a second guide curve) of the rear slider. When the rear slider is moved rearward from the state the sunroof panel is completely closed, the tilt lever is raised to tilt up the rear end of the roof panel.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-41362 discloses a structure where left and right guide rails (side frames) are integrally connected with each other by a front frame and a rear frame which extend in the vehicle width direction. As an integrated rectangular frame is comprised of these left and right guide rails, the front frame and the rear frame, the rigidity of the sunroof device is improved.
Sunroof devices have the following types: an inner sliding type in which the roof panel is slid rearward such that the roof panel is drawn inside of the fixed roof; and an outer sliding type in which the roof panel is moved above the fixed roof and is then slid rearward. In the outer sliding type, it is easier to secure a cabin space than in the inner sliding type. Further, in the outer sliding type, it is easier to make the roof panel larger than in the inner sliding type if sliders are provided at front and rear parts of the roof panel. As a sunroof device of the outer sliding type, a sunroof device has been known in which actions of the front and rear sliders for moving the roof panel in the up-down direction are made different to smoothly perform the tilt operation (see Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-52932, Japanese Patent No. 3982487 and Japanese Patent No. 4367109).
In a method for determining a tilt-up completion position of the roof panel by the regulation of a stopper, there has been a problem that a structure for mounting the stopper is complicated and a collision sound is generated. Therefore, a method has been generally used in which the tilt-up completion position of the roof panel is determined by stopping the rotation of the driving motor for the front slider and the rear slider at a predetermined pulse count value. If the position of the roof panel is displaced with respect to the pulse count value of the driving motor due to an external load or the like, however, the roof panel may not reach the tilt up completion position when the rotation of the driving motor is stopped.
In the structure disclosed in European Patent Application Publication No. 1741588 A1 for example, the lift guide pin of the front slider is positioned in an inclined part of the lift guide groove when the roof panel is completely tilted up, and thus, when the roof panel is displaced with respect to the pulse count value of the driving motor the height position of the lift guide pin is displaced by the vertical component of the inclined part, whereby variation of the tilt-up completion position of the roof panel is generated.
Due to the assembling error between the roof panel and the front slider and the rear slider, there has been a risk that the tilt-up completion position of the roof panel is varied depending on a product.
Furthermore, in the technique disclosed in European Patent Application Publication No. 1741588 A1, a pin (the first guide pin) at the other end thereof is slid in the groove of the rear slider (the first guide curve) when the tilt lever is raised. In this structure, however, as the tilt lever is being raised, a conversion efficiency at which the pressing force of the lift guide groove (the second guide curve) for pressing the lift guide pin (the second guide pin) is converted to the moving force for moving the pin (the first guide pin) is likely to be decreased and the raising operation of the tilt lever may not be performed smoothly.
Regarding the guide rail, it is preferable that each guide rail can be readily removed from a vehicle body separately for the purpose of their maintenance since the smooth movement of the slider may be obstructed if dust or the like is accumulated in the guide rail. In the conventional structure of the guide rail, however, left and right guide rails are integrally formed with the front frame and the rear frame, they can not be removed separately.
In a case of the large and heavy roof panel, an excessively large driving force is required at the time of a tilt operation (i.e. when the roof panel is moved upward from a closed position and when the roof panel is downward to the closed position after being moved horizontally in the closing direction). If there is not enough driving force, the roof panel can not be returned to a predetermined closed position and a gap may be generated between the roof panel and the fixed roof. Especially, when either one of the front and rear sliders is driven, the tilt operation by the follower side slider is difficult to be performed. Further, it is preferable that the front and rear guide rails have unique cross sectional shapes respectively to obtain a mechanism where the front and rear sliders can respectively perform the optimum tilt operation in order to more smoothly tilt the roof panel that is opened from or closed to the fixed roof in a sealed state.
The height position of the roof panel when the roof panel is completely closed is especially important in the external appearance quality. Thus, the roof panel needs to be mounted such that the roof panel is smoothly continued to the fixed roof of the vehicle. Conventionally, the height position of the roof panel is adjusted by a shim adjustment, however, the shim adjustment is cumbersome because handling the shim is troublesome.
The present invention is made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a sunroof device that can keep the roof panel in a regular tilt-up completion position even if the roof panel is displaced or has an assembling error or the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sunroof device in which the rising movement of the tilt lever (a link arm) is smooth.
Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a sunroof device in which left and right guide rails can be separately removed from a vehicle body while maintaining the rigidity of the sunroof device.
Moreover, an object of the present invention is to provide a sunroof device in which a roof panel can be smoothly moved even if the roof panel is made large.
Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a sunroof device which can easily perform the height adjustment of the roof panel.